Farmers from the Donetsk region were abducted and tortured by the occupiers
Two residents of the Donetsk region endured abduction, unlawful detention, interrogations under threat, and two periods of captivity after being captured by Russian military personnel. For nearly a month and a half, they tried to return home through the occupied territory.
Now, a Ukrainian court has sentenced two Russian military personnel involved in this crime to 12 years in prison in absentia. Prosecutors proved that the occupiers illegally detained civilians and treated them brutally.
This incident took place in July 2022. A 57-year-old man and his 35-year-old niece set out for the village of Stryapivka in the Bakhmut district. They wanted to retrieve poultry, personal belongings, and property left behind after the fighting began. However, they never reached their destination.
At the entrance to the village, they were stopped by Russian soldiers. Without any evidence, the people were accused of collaborating with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After that, the civilians were effectively taken captive.
First, the man and woman were taken to the occupiers’ so-called command post. There, one of the soldiers, known by the call sign “Boomer,” took their documents, car keys, and personal belongings at gunpoint. Then the people were locked in a cellar. Interrogations began shortly thereafter.
According to the investigation, a company commander nicknamed “Steklo” also participated in the interrogations. After the interrogations, the farmers were transported to a basement in Volodymyrivka. There, they continued to be illegally detained.
Their ordeal did not end there. After some time, the occupiers decided to transport the captives to the Luhansk region. To prevent them from figuring out the route, they put bags over their heads. In fact, they spent the entire journey blindfolded. In the Luhansk region, they were handed over to other Russian military personnel. The captives had no idea what would happen next.
Eventually, the Russian soldiers simply left the civilians in the middle of a field. Without food. Without water. Without any help. Ahead of them lay only an unknown road through occupied territory. The man and woman decided to walk. For four days, they tried to find a safe route and get out of the danger zone.
However, their freedom was short-lived. While attempting to return home, the farmers fell into the hands of the occupiers a second time. They were detained again. Interrogated again. They were held against their will once more. Only nearly a month and a half after their abduction did they manage to return to territory controlled by Ukraine.
During the investigation, law enforcement identified the individuals involved in the crime. They are a private and a senior lieutenant of the 6th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. Prosecutors in the Donetsk region proved their involvement in the unlawful detention of civilians.
The court found both men guilty of violating the laws and customs of war. Each was sentenced to the maximum penalty under this article—12 years in prison. The verdict was handed down in absentia.
Alexander Golubov, deputy head of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, who represented the prosecution in court, emphasized that this case was yet another example of crimes against the civilian population in the occupied territories. “This case is about specific people whom Russian military personnel turned into hostages simply because they remained Ukrainian civilians in the occupied territory,” he noted. According to the prosecutor, the people were held in damp basements, intimidated with weapons, had their hands tied, and were threatened with violence. “The man was beaten, and the woman was threatened until she lost consciousness,” Golubov reported.
He also emphasized that despite the occupiers’ attempts to conceal their crimes, investigators managed to identify them and gather the necessary evidence. “The Russian soldiers were unable to remain unidentified. Ukrainian investigators and prosecutors identified them, gathered evidence, and brought the case to a conviction,” the prosecutor’s office representative emphasized.
For two farmers from the Bakhmut district, this story became a true test of survival. They endured abduction, several stages of illegal transport, two periods of captivity, and dozens of days of uncertainty. Despite everything, they managed to return home. And their case has become yet another documented example of war crimes for which the perpetrators will sooner or later be held accountable. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Recently in Kyiv, scammers swindled a 74-year-old pensioner out of over 1.4 million hryvnias in various currencies, under the pretext of a security service investigation into ties to the aggressor country.
In Kryvyi Rih, an international fraud scheme involving the sale of metal products was uncovered.
The State Bureau of Investigation announcednew charges against a former official from Mykolaiv.
